Cairns 2014: XCO Finals

Tropical North Queensland, where everything can kill you, and will probably try… including Mother Nature. After covering the rocks in mud for yesterday’s downhill, the sun came out in backpacker-blistering force today, right in time to cook the world’s best cross country racers. On went the ice vests and out went the mud on a rapidly drying track.

It was another unreal day for Australian racers, with top tens in both the Elites and Under 23s. Buoyed by the screaming hordes gathered around the course’s pointiest bits, Bec Henderson and Dan McConnel absolutely flogged themselves and grabbed two huge results. In her first year in Elites, Bec Henderson had set herself the goal of a top ten this season – she got it on the very first round of the series, admitting she’d pushed far harder than planned with the crowd driving her on. McConnell, after finishing the World Cup season second last year, got things started on the right foot. He rode a flawless race to fourth. This is a man looks very comfortable at the fast end of a World Cup. He’s tasted victory and wants more.

You can view the full results here (Elite men’s and women’s, plus Under 23s guys and gals). Now feast your head windows on our gallery below!

Cam Ivory was today’s best placed U23 Aussie, with an 8th. He grinds up the last few pinches of the XCO climb.

Belgian Jeff Luyten digs deep.

The upper rock garden was causing fewer problems than when it was wet, but this section of crash netting still caught more than a few riders today.

Appreciate this photo. It is very hard to focus on a moving leaf cutter ant.